Rail-joint



S. F. STILLWELL. RAIL 10m.

APPLICATION FILED, OCT. 3. I921.

1,410 1, 27, Patented Deb. 27, 1921,

UNITED STATES- PATENT OFFICE. I

s mmer. r- STILLWELL, or GRAFTON, WEST vmenxim.

RAIL-JOINT.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented De 27 1921 Application filed October 3, 1921. Serial No. 505,099.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL F. STILL- WELL, a citizen of the United States of- America, residing at Grafton, in the county of Taylor and State of West Virginia, have invented new and useful Improvements n Rail-Joints, of which the following is a' specification.

'The object of the invention is to provide a rail joint and more particularly fish plates and means for securing the same in place and to the adjoining end of rail sections whereby the loosening or displacement of the fastening means as occurs in connection with the commonly used forms of bolts and nuts, and .the resultant spreading of the rails, may be prevented without resorting to the use 'of fastening means which can not be removed when it is necessary to repair the track or substitute ties or new rail lengths; and more specifically the object of the invention is to provide a fish plate securing and. rail engaging means having a tightening and locking engagement lw1th the fish plates which i not subject to accidental displacement, nor to surreptitious removal except by the use of special means or tools not ordinarily in the possession. of unauthorized persons; and with these objects in view the invention consists in a con- .struction, combination and relation of parts of which a preferred embodiment is shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein 'Figure 1 is a perspective view of a rail joint embodying a fastening means constructed in accordance with the invention.

spring washers.

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view of the same on the plane indicated by the line 2-2 of ig. 3 is a side view of one end of a rail length or section.

viewof one of the fisl The connected or adjoining rail ends indicated at 10 are overlapped by the fish plates 11 which in general form may correspond struction illustrated is of an with the conventional construction of devices of this type with transverse openings 12 registering w1th openings 13 in the rail web, said openings being of the keyhole shape or type to permit of passage of the web 14nand shank 15 of a bolt 16, the bolt being provlded atone end with said lateral wing or web and at the other end with a head of the hexagonal or other conventional form.

interposed between the head of the bolt and the exterior surface of the fish plate is asp-ring washer 17 tending to resist the insertion of the bolt sufiiciently to have the wing or web clear the outer surface of the other fish plate, and formed on the second fish pl'atein the path of movement of the web or win when the bolt is turned is a cam'l8, pre erably countersunk or arranged in a recess 19 .formed in the fish plate and terminating in a seat 20 for the reception of the inner edge of the wing or web when the bolt has been turned after insertion to the limit of its movement, which in the conan lar extent of 180.

The inner end of the wing or web is wedge shaped as shown at 21 .and the seat is V- shaped to correspond therewith so that an interlocking engagement is formed between the wing or web and the fish plate when the bolt, having been turnedto cause the wing or web to traverse the cam and by means of the cam has been drawn inward in oppositlon to'the tension of the spring washer, until the. said wing or web comes into the plane of the seat. When the wing or web snaps into the seat it is obvious that the spring washer will be under tension and the interlocking relation of the bolt and fish plate will thus maintain the parts in. their adjusted relations against accidental displacement by reason of jarring or vibration of the rails.

illo'reoverwith a spring washer of sufiicient tension and a seat of Sufficient depth, the release of the bolt even surreptitiously will be prevented except b someone having a special tool adapted to impart longitudinal' and rotary movement to the bolt with sufiicient force to overcome its opposing infiuence.

H. vlngdescribed the invention, what is claimed as new and useful 1s 1. A rail joint having fish plates connect ed through the rail by a transverse bolt provided at its extremities respectively with a head and a laterally rejecting web or wing,

the openings in the shplates for the reception of the bolt shank being of keyhole form, and a spring washer interposed between the head of the bolt and the outer surface of the adjacent fish plate, the other fish plate being provided adjacent to its bolt opening with a progressivel deflected cam face to be traversed by t 'e inner. edge ofthe web or wing, said cam face terminating in a seat for the reception of the inner edge of the web or wing, the seat and the engaging edge of the web or wing being of "ti-form.

2. A.- rail joint having fish plates connected eer-ea? through the rail by a transverse bolt provided at its extremities respectively with a head and a laterally projecting web or wing, a spring washer interposed between the head of the bolt and the outer surface of the adja:

cent fish platefthe other fish plate being provided with a progressively deflected face for engagement by the inner edge of the web or wing, the said deflected face terminating in a seat of V-form and the engaging edge of the web being of corresponding form in testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

SAMUEL r. srinnw enn 

